I Still Think
by kiwi-me
Summary: Post Skeletons fluff. Please enjoy. Reviews are not essential just enjoy.


Written after Law &Order U.K. Series Four Episode Six: Skeletons so spoilers if you are not up to there yet. About time I finally got round to finally finishing it. All mistakes are mine. All recognisable characters belong to this series and its creator Dick Wolf. Thanks to them for giving us such interesting characters to play with and to the actors and actresses that portray them.

Title due to the fact that i was listening to Darren Criss at the time of writing. Anyway Enjoy! 

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><p>There was a moment there when he just wanted to rip that bloody phone out of Alesha's hand and tell George to go stuff it. That they were in the middle of something that has been two years in the making. That this gorgeous and intelligent woman in front of him is finally not off limits and he would like to do something about it. That he loves her, and respects her, and regards her as one of his closest friends but right now he is supposed to be kissing her and frankly his ill-timed phone call is getting in the way of it.<p>

But he doesn't.

He lets her walk away. It is a dumb ass move of the highest order but he does it anyway. Cos really she is that intelligent and he has talked to George about moving her on up. It was wrong for him to have kept her close for so long. It is time for her to be out of his shadow and to show the world, or at the very least London, how good she really is. She is going to be great.

He makes a mostly clean break. He picks up his stuff from CPS when he knows she is in court. It's not that he doesn't want to see her but he has made his decision and seeing her will just make it harder. He fears he would see anger and disappointment in her eyes.

L&O

Damn you George. She wants to turn around run up to James and kiss him for all she's worth. Instead she does her job as she always. Good, dutiful Alesha.

She is not the new head honcho but George does give her a lot of new responsibilities. She is proud of this despite the new heavy workload. She emails James about cases and about her days. She even emails him about the new guy, the douche that prosecuted James, and how she wants nothing more to go at the guy with a cricket bat. She misses seeing James every day. She is still pissed about how his case went and what she did but she needs him. She emails him but never gets a reply until eventually she just gives up.

L&O

After six months there are no more emails. He still keeps tabs on her though. He follows her progress and some of her bigger profile cases. Thank goodness George is a talker, especially after some of the good stuff. George doesn't hide his disappointment that his two wunderkinds relationship has stalled but George does not comment, just frowns a little, and then gives James the information he is after.

He keeps in touch with Ronnie and Matt. He doesn't begrudge them what they did. While they are not what he would call close friends be loves listening to them bicker, hearing Matt complain about what Ronnie eats, and some war stories from being the best at what they do. They are the ones that tell him Alesha is dating.

He knew it might happen but it doesn't make it any easier. After a weekend drinking at home he goes away to visit his son. When he gets back he kicks own ass and decides to throw himself in to some work and ends up taking a teacher position at a University in the city.

L&O

Work is taking a toll but she is thriving. She picks up her phone to call him and tell him her success rate is currently higher than his was. She just wants to skight, to hear him laugh and then tell her that he always knew she could do it. How he misses me. Instead she puts down her phone, grabs her jacket and heads out for a drink. She meets a guy and ends up in his bed but makes sure she is gone before he wakes.

It's been a year. He has tried dating a couple of times. Trying may be over reaching. Attended would be more accurate. His hearts not in it.

Her face is becoming common place in the newspapers. She has prosecuted a few high profile cases. George has said that she is coming along nicely. He knows it's true when he has dinner with a few former adversaries and they spend their time complaining about Alesha Phillips and James' training her. He takes the ribbing but secretly he is beaming inside. He knew she was capable of it and could not be any prouder of her getting the recognitions she so thoroughly deserves.

L&O

One of her old Professors, Lydia Johns, gets in touch asking her about job. She didn't realise anyone from her University had been following her progress and is flattered at the attention. Her former Professor corrects her and tells her that it was a new Professor at the University that was following her progress and was a great admirer of her work. In fact the Professor had no idea that she had gone there. Dr. Johns tells her she must be doing something right to get such attention from this man and to keep doing such a brilliant job. It's not until after the phone call that Alesha realises that she didn't get the name of the new lecturer so she jumps on her University's website and scours the page until her eyes fall on upon a very familiar smile.

L&O

It's exam week at his University. Though admired deeply by his students he has become well known for challenging exams so he knows no one will be looking for him they will all be studying so he takes the opportunity to spend a day at court. For the first few hours he hops between courtrooms listening to arguments and thinking how he would have done something different. It is just after lunch when he bumps in to the three men and one woman. Turns out Ronnie and Matt are here for some case that is just wrapping up and their Super and George have joined them to be there for the final arguments. It's one of Alesha's cases. He tries to beg off when they invite him. He wants to hear her, see her, but there will be nowhere to hide. He knows George and he knows Ronnie and Matt. They will be sitting at the front, highly visible, lending their support to Alesha and the case. She stops when she sees him and he can't help but smile at her but she quickly turns her back and focuses on the legal pad in front of her. When she stands and starts her argument he is transfixed. A bomb could go off and he would not notice. She looks a little older but her fierceness and grace remain. He risks a glance at the jury to find them just as taken with her and is sure that they will find this man guilty. He realises that she is wrapping things up so he whispers his farewells to his former colleagues and makes his getaway. He spends the night marking papers, sipping red wine, and thinking about her.

L&O

She seems him in court and she sure her heart stops. She wants to peek over her shoulder and make sure he is really there but she forces herself to focus on her case. She is sure of her case and that she has the jury on side but it should never be taken for granted. As she stands to make her final argument she turns to face the jury and quickly loses herself in her case. When she is finished she goes to sit and looks back at those behind her. Ronnie and Matt both give her tight smiles and George gives her a thumbs up but it is Superintendent Chandler's eyes that make her falter slightly. James' seat is empty. She wins the case and makes the papers again. She is proud of the win but can't bring herself to feel happy about it. The boys drag her out for a drink at a bar nearby. It's here that she meets David. He is lovely and lavishes attention on her. They date for a while but when he tells her that he wants her to meet his young son she balks. He isn't James and she isn't being fair to him. Lovely David understands.

L&O

And then suddenly somehow it's been two years. Two years without talking to her but at the same time thinking of no one but her. He has grown but so has she, so he decides it's time to do something about it.

He doesn't share his plan with anyone but he convinces Matt and Ronnie, thank goodness for these two wonderful men, to take her out for a drink, and he convinces George to let him back on CPS property, largely unescorted.

When she returns to the office to do some more work, before heading home to her empty flat, she is surprised to see light coming from her office. Even more surprised to see George give her a wave and a smile as she walks through the bullpen, he is usually long gone by this time off night. In fact the last time he was here this late was three months ago just after she broke up with David. She had come to work to get her mind off of things and then proceeded to get hammered with George in his office. She is pretty sure she spent the whole night talking about James and definitely remembers the horror of being in court the next day. Frowning, she opens her office to find lit candles scattered around her office. She spins around the middle trying to figure out who did this. As she spins she spots just one thing that is out of place. A small black box. She picks it up and turns it over in hands trying to decide whether she should open it or not.

Now what? he wonders. He wishes he had thought this through just a little more. Too late. She looks up as he leans against the doorframe. She doesn't know what to do. The man she loves is there leaning against his old door frame, her doorframe, biting his lip looking unsure. She wants to rant and rave and yell at him for hours but instead she bursts in to tears. In an instant he has her gathered up in his arms and he is whispering in her ear apologies and sweet nothings and is silently thankful that she is not beating the crap out of him. Once she has settled he takes the box from her hand, opens it and slides a ring on to her finger. She smiles up at him and finally, finally they kiss like they should have two years ago.

They don't make it to bed that night. They don't even leave the office. They sit all night in the office apologising and catching each other up on their lives. The ring is never mentioned but they catch each other staring at it throughout the night. It is not until 8 the next morning that she broaches the subject. "Two things James," she says as he fingers the ring on her finger. "One. You are actually gonna have to ask me. Not now but sometime in the future. I will say 'Yes' but you are going to actually verbalise the question." He smiles at her and nods. "Two. You are going to get the blessing of George, Matt, and Ronnie." He stills at the thought and his smile drops but then she laughs and leans in for a kiss and he knows that it will be alright cos he loves her. He waited two years and now he is not going to let her go.


End file.
